TOUR de FRANCE officials have dismissed reports of any controversy brewing over Ireland's bid to hold the opening stages of the 1998 race.

"If Dublin shows it can manage the Tour properly nobody will complain. the Tour's administrative director. Agnes Pierret, said yesterday.

"We are concerned, as always, about giving riders the best conditions and we need to make travel as comfortable and quick as possible. We will be looking into the logistics of Ireland's bid and making a decision in December," she added.

Liege, in Belgium, is so far the only other candidate to start the 1998 Tour.

The Tour is almost certain to start outside France to avoid the distraction of the 1998 World Cup football finals which will reach a climax during the Tour's first week.

The Irish Government agreed a fortnight ago to find the £2 million needed to bring the race to Ireland after drawing up a package of contributions from four ministries.

Meanwhile, the organiser of the Tour de France Jean Marie Leblanc, yesterday made an unprecedented call on cyclists and their team managers to combat doping.

Speaking at the presentation of the 1997 Tour de France route in Paris, in the presence of the leading four finishers in this year's race, Leblanc called on leading cyclists to maintain "moral probity in the face of temptation", to remember the example they set to children and warned that failure to do so could be suicidal.

"We must do it for the future of the sport and the credibility and image of our champions," Legeay said.